Monday, September 23, 2013

To Know is to Believe.....

How many of us have set out on a new goal, task, or idea only to find it seems slightly daunting, impossible, or maybe even too good to be true? You want it badly enough that you're not quite sure how you're going to achieve your goal, and even at times the visual at the end is either foggy or non-attainable in the moment.

I know this feeling very well. It's something that played on repeat in my head for years as I battled with my weight. It's almost as if it became a familiar tune of sorts. I didn't like it, but I was comfortable with it. It didn't scare me. I just wasn't sure how to move past it or wasn't sure that my body and mind were capable of doing so.

I made the decision I was going to get healthy, change my life, and be happy, not knowing if I was going to be able to pull off the task I put in front of myself, but I knew I was willing to give it a try. I guess you could say I had failed so many other times at attempts to lose weight that I was naturally wanting to blame my problem on my body make-up, metabolism, or even genetics. It wasn't an easy thing to fix. It took many months of hard work and dedication on my brain's part, as well as eating healthy and feeling successful to start to see a change. A change that was going to last forever. It took nearly 18 months of eating healthy and exercise to lose the 133 pounds. That's all. I know that seems daunting and impossible, but in the big picture of life it was no time at all.

To know something is to believe in it. Believe you are going to become the person you want to become. You can do it! Anyone can do it. I've been reminded of this lately as I struggle with the little imperfections I'm dealing with and the transformation of my body as it comes in bits and pieces. Some months I feel stronger than others and more on top of things. Other times I feel weak and vulnerable and more like I'm moving in slow motion, if not backwards. Like I've mentioned recently, I spent several months out of the gym, training for a half marathon, vacationing, and hiking. Even though my body was active, it was out of its normal routine, and in some ways, suffered. My body is nowhere near as toned as it was. I can feel the sag. Yeah, I know...gross but it's true. The scale has not changed considerably to where I am worried, but I can feel it in my clothes. When I started back at the gym a couple weeks ago it felt hard. Almost like I was starting over. Many days my brain wanted to play tricks on me but I tried to outsmart it with all sorts of positive affirmations instead of visiting a place that wasn't going to do me any good.

Knowing is believing. Believing we can accomplish anything we set our mind and body to do. It may not always be easy, but I'm not sure it was meant to be easy. If we want change, change for the better, it takes some knowing it is possible and believing we can do it!

Here's to a full week at the gym! (I ended up with a little bug last week and missed 2 days.)